MORRISSEY: Goal was one win in D.C., so mission accomplished for Cubs

By Rick Morrissey

Anthony Rizzo celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the Nationals on Saturday.(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The Cubs have the Nationals right where they want them.

Does that sound too rosy after a 6-3 Cubs loss Saturday evening that seemed to shock the Nationals back to life? Perhaps it is if you’re caught up in the knee-jerk, which-way-is-the-wind-blowing nature of postseason baseball. If you are, a sedative might do wonders.

But a step back, and a deep breath if you’re a Cubs fan, will reveal that the Cubs got out of here with what they wanted in the first place — one victory.

And that one victory over Stephen Strasburg, who was brilliant in Game 1 of this first-round series, might count for more than one.

The Cubs absolutely wanted to win Game 2 — did, in fact, believe they had it in hand when they led 3-1 going into the eighth inning. But they didn’t get it, thanks to a five-run eighth by the Nationals and a Bryce Harper home run that is still being tracked by air-traffic controllers.

What does it all mean? It means that the best-of-five series is tied at 1 heading to Wrigley Field. The Cubs wouldn’t have said it before Game 1, but winning one of two on the road was the objective.

“Sure, of course you want to be a little greedy,’’ Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant said. “If you have a chance to be 2-0, that sure would be nice. But winning one’s pretty good, too. Now it’s a best-of-three, with two games at home.’’

And no one knows what pitcher Max Scherzer will look and feel like when he takes the mound for the Nationals in Game 3 Monday. He has a hamstring issue, what the Nationals called “a tweak,” which is baseball for “a strain.’’ Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain — the mildest on the hammy spectrum — on Sept. 4, and it has taken him this long to get right.

Scherzer was pulled from a Sept. 30 game because of the hamstring problem. Is he healed? Does he have pain? Can he push off the rubber with the affected leg? Lots of questions that, at least from the outside, would seem to favor the Cubs.

None of what happened in Washington is a guarantee that the Cubs will win this series. If you want to wrestle over which team has momentum heading into Game 3, have at it. The Nationals think they have it now. Plenty of people thought the series was over when the Cubs beat Strasburg on Friday. One of them was staring back at me in the mirror Saturday morning.

But playoff baseball is a wild ride. We know that. One inning in, we forget it.

Manager Joe Maddon followed his normal script, bringing in Carl Edwards Jr., who was excellent the night before in a 3-0 Cubs victory, to pitch the eighth. A single by Adam Lind was followed by Harper’s upper-deck shot to right field, tying the game. Edwards’ curve to Harper didn’t just hang, it loitered. Mike Montgomery gave up a three-run homer to Ryan Zimmerman, and the Nationals, historically a drowsy bunch in the postseason, were fully caffeinated.

Should Maddon have brought in a lefty to face Harper? Should he have given Edwards a day of rest after he pitched Friday? It doesn’t matter. Maddon had used Edwards in the same way all season, to much better results. It didn’t work this time.

“It’s another game,’’ Edwards said. “And the great thing is, I’m sure I’m going to have more opportunities to get these guys in the next three or four days. And I know it’ll be a different outcome.’’

If the goal was to sneak out of the nation’s capital with a victory over a team that had won 97 games in the regular season, mission accomplished.

Now what? Monday. Monday is what’s what.

“In front of our home fans, that’s going to be fun,’’ Bryant said.

Follow me on Twitter @MorrisseyCST.

Email: rmorrissey@suntimes.com